This remarkably fresh idea comes from an equally fresh source — a fairly unknown member of a too-often-irrelevant, sclerotic New York political party: Republican Harry Wilson.

Wilson’s running for comptroller — a job, to be sure, nearly as obscure as he is.

Time to pay attention, New York.

The state, Wilson warns, is “in the early stages of a massive fiscal crisis.”

He cites more than $2.5 billion in gimmicks — phantom revenues, unauthorized borrowing, a raid on pension funds and such — stuffed into the budget lawmakers are crafting this week.

Wilson believes an aggressive comptroller, who’s charged with overseeing the state fisc, can do something about it. Like refusing to release legislators’ paychecks until they approve a budget that adds up. Or suing to protect the state public-employee pension fund, of which the comptroller is sole trustee.

Wilson — a Harvard MBA who helped restructure GM as a member of President Obama’s auto task force — says that, in times like these, “we need new leaders who are willing to test the limits in defense of taxpayers.”

No argument here.

Alas, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli would never think of blocking lawmakers’ budgets — no matter how out of whack. Why would he? After all, they gave him his job, after Alan Hevesi quit in disgrace.

DiNapoli claims he lacks authority to block even bad budgets.

But Wilson cites a legal basis for doing just that, noting that the courts haven’t fully resolved the matter.

Wilson also notes that DiNapoli, as guardian of the state pension fund, can sue to thwart a planned raid on it, as earlier comptrollers have done.

But then, DiNapoli once proposed his own pension raid.

Whom would he sue — himself?

Wilson’s point isn’t that comptrollers should get to devise budgets; that’s the legislators’ and governor’s job. Nor that they can guarantee sound fiscal plans.

But he does argue that anyone who holds the post “must fight for honest and fiscally responsible governance.”

What a novel notion.

This is by no means an endorsement of Wilson’s candidacy. But it is an acknowledgement — and an appreciation — of some fresh thinking on important issues.

New Yorkers who care about fiscal prudence would do well to watch this campaign closely.